Antoine Walker scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping
the Boston Celtics snap a five-game losing streak with a 97-93
victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies, who received a career-high
and franchise-record 41 points from Bryant Reeves.

Reeves, who hit 14-of-21 shots and 13-of-15 free throws, had a
previous high of 39 points on April 19th, 1997 against Phoenix.
His 41 points set an opponent record against the Celtics at the
Fleet Center, surpassing Acie Earl's 40 points against Boston in
April 1996.

Reeves' big game also matched the arena record set by former
Celtic Todd Day against Minnesota on December 22nd, 1995.

Walter McCarty and rookie Ron Mercer added 14 points each and
rookie John Thomas had season highs of 13 and eight rebounds off
the bench for the Celtics, who earlier in the season had two
other five-game losing streaks.

"Certainly we have played great in the fourth quarter most of
the season. We came out tonight and made big offensive and
defensive plays down the stretch," said Boston coach Rick
Pitino. "Bryant Reeves is a heck of a basketball player because
he sees the ball so well and takes up so much space in the
lane."

Reeves also had 12 rebounds. Otis Thorpe contributed 17 points
and seven rebounds and Shareef Abdur-Rahim 16 and nine for the
Grizzlies, who dropped their 12th straight game, the
fourth-longest losing streak in the club's three-year history.

"We knew that they were going to start pressing from the get-go,
so we concentrated on breaking the press and getting some early
points," said Reeves. "My teammates did a great job of feeding
me the ball down low and giving me plenty of chances to score.
We played pretty well for most of the game but we had a few
breakdowns and they took advantage of them. We just need to
keep playing hard."

Vancouver led 54-46 early in the third quarter after two free
throws by Abdur-Rahim, but Boston responded with a 9-0 run to
take its first lead of the game. Thomas' dunk at the 7:55 mark
gave the Celtics a 55-54 lead. Walker contributed five points
to the spurt and Thomas four.

Vancouver repsonded with a 9-0 burst of its own, with Thorpe's
layup at the 6:05 mark capping it and giving the Grizzlies a
63-55 advantage. Vancouver closed the quarter with a 71-67
lead.

Midway through the fourth quarter the Celtics regained the lead,
81-79, on Walker's fadeaway jumper. The game was tied three
more times, the last time at 85-85 with 4:11 remaining after a
pair of free throws by Thorpe.

Boston took the lead for good 21 seconds later when rookie
Chauncey Billups, who had 13 points and nine assists, split two
defenders and hit a scoop shot in the lane.

Two free throws by Reeves with 2:54 left pulled Vancouver within
89-87, but Billups drained a three-pointer from the top of the
key for a five-point lead.

"I was very proud of the way the team played tonight. Antonio
Daniels did a great job against their pressure," said Vancouver
coach Brian Hill. "Even though we had a lot of turnovers, their
offensive rebounding hurt us. What a heckuva game by Reeves. He
attacked the basket when he got the ball.

"The losing streak has been hard on us and I told the players I
feel for them. We're going to bust through this. I told them
tough times don't last, but tough people do."

Vancouver led 27-13 after one quarter as Reeves scored 13
points. He added 12 more in the second period as the Grizzlies
took a 52-44 lead into halftime.